"It's humiliating," he says with a shrug. "There are many others in my position.

"There are classrooms in the first year that are over-filled. More than 30 in a classroom, and many headmasters have complained to the government because the classrooms are not legally fit to contain such a number."

So how would he save money?

"I think the cuts must be made in other sectors, like the payment of our politicians, which are the most high in Europe.

"Cutting education is not the right way of behaving, cutting the future of the next generation."

Government support

In a workshop nearby, that most Italian of accessories is being revved up.

Simone Caldera owns a scooter and motorbike repairs and sales business, which is doing less well right now.

People are not buying the higher-end vehicles. Sales of the cheaper scooters from Asia, though, are holding up well.

"We are suffering from a very bad crisis which started in 2008, and had its worst setback this year."

Business, she says, is down 30% since the start of the year, and is half what it was this time last year. She blames the fact that fewer people are coming to Milan, and those that do come are spending less.

And she has a warning: "Rome is the political capital - but Milan has always been the economic capital.

"Milan has been able to stand up to all the crises, but now we have the feeling that we have more difficulties than ever."

That should worry the world's leaders as they head for the G20 at Cannes. If Italy's affluent engine is stalling, where's growth going to come from?